Mayfield's Thousand Layer Potatoes Blend Texture and Balance

The San Juan Capistrano restaurant's labor-intensive dish combines crispy, buttery potato layers with cool, tangy labneh.

Published on Mar. 4, 2026

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Mayfield in San Juan Capistrano has created a unique dish called Batata Harra Thousand Layer Potatoes that blends Middle Eastern flavors with a viral food trend. The labor-intensive process involves thinly slicing potatoes, mixing them with ghee and spices, layering them, and compressing them overnight before frying them to create a crispy exterior and soft interior. The dish is served with a cool, tangy labneh to balance the richness.

Why it matters

The dish showcases Mayfield's commitment to creativity and innovation in their menu, taking a viral food trend and putting their own unique spin on it by blending it with Middle Eastern flavors. It also highlights the restaurant's attention to detail and the effort their kitchen team puts into labor-intensive, handcrafted dishes.

The details

To create the Batata Harra Thousand Layer Potatoes, Mayfield's chef Jon Sarmenta and his team thinly slice potatoes on a mandolin, mix them with ghee, Aleppo pepper, and other spices, then layer them into pans to bake for over an hour. Overnight, the layers are compressed with heavy weights, which causes the butter to solidify and the potatoes to form a solid block. Shortly before serving, the compressed potato blocks are portioned and fried until the edges are crispy and shatter-like, while the interior remains soft. The dish is served with a cool, tangy labneh that has been strained overnight and topped with lemon zest and micro-cilantro to balance the richness of the potatoes.

  • The dish takes two days to prepare, with the layering and compression happening overnight.
  • The dish will be available at Mayfield for the time being.

The players

George Barker

The owner of Mayfield restaurant in San Juan Capistrano.

Jon Sarmenta

The chef at Mayfield restaurant who developed the Batata Harra Thousand Layer Potatoes dish.

Mayfield

A restaurant located in San Juan Capistrano, California, known for its creative and innovative menu items.

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What they’re saying

“We didn't want to just do french fries or smashed potatoes with a spicy sauce. We wanted to add value where the guests can see the creativity.”

— George Barker, Owner, Mayfield (ocregister.com)

“It was just too much fat. It's already pretty decadent, so we strain the labneh overnight and top it with lemon zest and micro-cilantro instead of fresh lemon and regular cilantro.”

— George Barker, Owner, Mayfield (ocregister.com)

What’s next

The dish will continue to be available at Mayfield for the foreseeable future, allowing customers to try this unique and labor-intensive creation.

The takeaway

Mayfield's Batata Harra Thousand Layer Potatoes demonstrate the restaurant's commitment to creativity and innovation, taking a viral food trend and putting their own unique spin on it by blending it with Middle Eastern flavors and techniques. The dish's balance of textures and flavors showcases the attention to detail and effort the Mayfield team puts into their handcrafted menu items.